In view of rising freight traffic, the Centre on Wednesday approved the doubling of three railway lines totalling 464.06 km at a cost of Rs.7,178.40 crore, an official statement said.
The doubling of 189.278-km Kottavalasa-Koraput railway track between Andhra Pradesh and Odisha would ease freight traffic rush on the section and also increase railways' revenue.
The doubling of 164.56-km Koraput-Singapur Road rail section in Odisha would also help address heavy freight traffic. The project cost would be Rs.2361.74 crore.
The 110.22-km Jagdalpur-Koraput railway line passing through Chhattisgarh and Odisha would be doubled at a cost of Rs.1,839.02 crore.
All these projects were likely to be completed in seven years, the government statement said.